Ok then, how about PCM?

It really makes the interior (mainly center console) look more expensive as in classier. And I'm not crazy about the little radio memory buttons either. But so many people don't buy PCM. If you really needed one for the function it provides, you can always get an awesome portable one for about$1K and less. Of course, it won't look the same and might even look tacky. But you want it for the function, right? I already have a portable one, so I hate to spend, what,$3, 500? Would it be a big resale point? I don't plan on selling this car for a long long time, but I've said that before. I suspect many car enthusiat have said the same many times. But that's another subject. Any advice on pros and cons? Thanks!

Satellite-Navigation systems are getting dramatically better every six months. If I really needed SatNav, I would go with a portable, which I could then use in a rental car if I were flying/driving. The newest portables already exceed the functionality of PCM mit Navigation. My mind allows me to store maps in my short term memory, so I consult maps before trips, when I don't know where I am going, and I usually find my way without a problem.

I splurged and got it. I love it in my 350z and use it WAY more than I would have ever thought possible. Personally, the portables are tacky to me (and a huge theft risk if left out). That said, I live in the 4th largest city in the US (Houston), so that is a factor. If you live in Pocatello Idaho, then you probably already know every street and backroad... Paul

And the opposite view - just to balance mpollard's and probably confuse you - get the PCM - just go through the manual and you will be amazed at the array of functions that it does either uniquely or in a way that enhances other functions on the car. If Porsche charged $500 for each option like they do on other items it would cost about five times more than it does. You get a lot to play with for your buck. Edited by - K-Man-sculpture.net on 01/24/2006 8:13:35 PM

Devo, Welcome to the site and you bring up a good point with the 350Z in that Japanese auto makers are a generation ahead of German auto makers when it comes to Nav systems. The 3D Navi unit from Nissan/Infiniti is a very nice system, so is the Lexus and the Honda/Acura systems. I passed on the current generation PCM confident that I can retrofit the next generation system at some point in the future if I so desire or go with a completely different solution. Having the lap time bar graph in PCM is nice when combined with SC, but since I can't print it out, doesn't do me much good to try and analyze later, I can't analyze it in the middle of a hot lap. Others might disagree and find it a necessity and that's ok, the answer really has to come from the buyer and whether or not it is of interest to them.

Fiebru , it depends where you are going to use it. Are you in P.R. ?

As with any option or color, if you want it and can afford it, then get it! You will be glad you did.

The thing is if I want to keep the price under control, I would have to give up on too many options to get PCM. Everything else I have, I don't want to give up. I'm at 71K right now.

Not worth it in my opinion. The technolgy changes so quickly that the device will be like a tube radio in 3 or 4 years. Not only many added features are coming but things like this will make the unit obsolete in time. <h2>Government turns up volume on GPS</h2> <p class="byline">Posted Jan 25th 2006 6:30PM by Marc Perton Filed under: GPS <div class="post" id="584939"> The US government flicked the switch today on a new GPS signal, known as L2C. The signal, according to the government, is transmitted at a higher effective power, allowing it to 'work better in urban areas and indoors.' The new signal, being transmitted by the IIR satellite launched in September, can also be received using less power, potentially allowing better GPS reception by smaller devices such as cellphones. However, most current devices may not be able to make use of the new signals without upgrades. </div> <p class="MsoPlainText" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o ></o >

I don't think it will be obsolete, just outdated. The old GPS units in the Cessna 172's I am learning to fly are very basic - several generations old. But they still work as required. There is always some new and better toy around the next corner. RedEye

Portables might be OK for a rental car, but they don't quite hold their place if you are driving your sportscar as it should, and ergonomically they are not as easy to manipulate as an in-dash solution. You have to drive like a grandma for those thing not to fall from your dash.... The Porsche Navigation system is great and in addition to the screen you get directions and information on the instrument dial (no need to look right and down). It's 3X as expensive but it is somehting you see and use every day if you need. It is like having a big humongous CRT computer monitor plugged to a PowerMac instead of the nice thin LCD screens the come with. Sure, the computer works the same, but you see that huge bulky thing evry single minute your are working on your computer. If you really use/need Satnav go OEM, specially in a $70K car for god's sake.

cgomez - You might want to do some research. The new units have very good voice guidance that announces the actual names of the next turns (turn on 1st street vs. turn left) which means very little in car manipulation is needed, instant satellite recognition, sizes that fit our Cayman, stable mounts as good as a radar detector and they can be put away for most of our driving because you don't need it all the time. Did I say tube radios? I'm sure that did mean anything to most. How about buying an 8 track for your car? Oops, I probably still didn't make sense. How about the first 5 generations of the iPod to understand where the pcm will be in a few years? I'd buy if there was a reasonable upgrade plan but as it stands now all you can get is a new occasional map upgrade CD for $$$$. [/quote]But you will not get any new features like SIRFIII. I’m sure that future buyers are going to be unimpressed with this option if they understand technology.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break" /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break" /><o ></o >[/quote] Some of the features of the portable units are customized POI's that have been built by users like us. Things like speed camera locations for instance that are very valuable that the Porsche unit will never have. There are many, many more customizable features if anyone is interested.<o ></o >[/quote]

<hr id="quote" noshade="noshade" height="1" /> <hr id="quote" noshade="noshade" height="1" />I don't believe in saying, you have to get it because the car's price is $XXX. Where do you draw the line?</blockquote>

is the PCM for North America able to spot out traffic jams too? like the one in the BBC video with JC in it.

You say that you dont need Sat navigation 'cause all you live in USA... but what about Europe ???? Have you ever done a driving inside the centre of Rome or in Florence ????? We have streets done in 2 or 3 century BC so small that you cant even imagine... The traffic information with TCM works well in all Europe (Italy too..) and excuse me why not your pcm for the croc and a tomtom go for the leased car ???? I took my Ipaq with TomTom GPS in my trip in the States and it worked fine, but I like more my integrated screen in my Jag and in my Porsche !!!!!! Bye Edited by - sivorik on 01/27/2006 03:04:41 AM

I will wait for a nav system that is integrated into a crackberry or a treo cell phone. Talk about an all in one, it would be the bomb!

Nice to have but for me I spent $ on all the sport upgrades. I also agree if you lived in Europe it would be a great benefit. Driving around in some of those towns can be too confusing.

Maybe it is just that I have a different standard than most, specially with regards to a sportscar that's driven hard (high g-loads linear and lateral). I hate things flying around or that are not well integrated or fixed on the dashboard. For example, I have never cared to install a radar detector... I can withstand the pain of a portable unti lying and falling from top of the dashboard on weekedn trip on a rental car, but not in my daily driver. Also, I have never seen a portable unit thaty can blend nicely with a screen as large as the PCM. Screen size matters (unless you replace the whole unit and then you miss all the other functions that are neatly integrated into the system: Trip computer, sports chrono, data log). Navigation is Navigation and I agree that technology makes fast progress, and the current just works fine for what I currently need. Also cars evolve too, and the next iteration of the Cayman will be better than the current. That's why I never hold a car more than 36mo (2 years avg.), b/c I do want to enjoy the latest/greatest thing. However, I do plan on keeping longer cars that I consider unique or that provide a driving exprience difficult to replicate in the future (mostly due to the ever increasing weight of cars cuased by over-regulation). Basically I don't believe in aftermarket bells and whisttles, specially in high end sportscars. I care about the way the car drives and handles and I don't think one can do a better job than the factory in integrating the bells and whistles confort accesories properly without a huge compromise to ergonomics (unless you spend even more money, mostly due to extensive labor, than what the OEM stuff costs)

CGomez, In my case, I've usedportable GPSs occassionally. So I wouldn't have to deal with stuff flying around all the time. Besides, most windshield suction mounts do a good job at keeping the unit in place. Rudy